Former Florida school board member allegedly used district money to buy fake pregnancy belly amid $100K scheme
MIAMI - A former school board member in Miami was arrested after she was caught allegedly racking up over $100,000 on district-issued credit cards for unauthorized personal purchases like vacations, food, clothing and other shopping trips, according to State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle.
Lubby Navarro, 49, was arrested and charged with two counts of scheme to defraud and two counts of grand theft, according to a 91-page arrest affidavit obtained by FOX 35.
"Every dollar stolen and spent by Mrs. Navarro is a dollar taken from our school system, and therefore stolen from our children and diminishing their possibility of a better future," Rundle said in a press conference earlier this week. "Lubby Navarro, who had been the vice chair of the school board and had worked for the school system since 2002, knew better. She knew better than to have gone down this very pathetic path."
Navarro was employed by Miami-Dade Public Schools since 2002 in various roles. In 2015, Navarro was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott to fill a vacant seat as a Miami-Dade County School Board Member representing District 7. She was then elected in 2016 and re-elected in 2020 for the same District 7 seat, per the State Attorney. She also served as vice-chair for the Miami-Dade school board.
She resigned, however, from her position in the school board before her term concluded on Dec. 30, 2022. Now, Navarro is currently employed as vice president of government affairs by Memorial Healthcare Systems, a hospital system in Broward County. She's also the executive director of the Jorge Mas Canosa Freedom Foundation.
FOX 35 has reached out to both employers for comment.
"Miami-Dade County Public Schools has been made aware of the recent arrest of former School Board Member Lubby Navarro," the district said in a statement to FOX 35. "As this remains an active, open matter, we will not be commenting on this situation. We will fully cooperate with law enforcement agencies as necessary."
It wasn't until after Navarro left the school board that administrators were alerted to "suspicious" activity on Navarro's district-issued credit cards, however, according to Rundle. All school board members are issued two credit cards, a "Purchasing Card" or "P-Card" for small, day-to-day purchases, and a travel card for district-related trips.
These cards have strict limitations, which Navarro allegedly ignored over the course of multiple years. Some of the limits include a monthly spending limit of $6,000, a single transaction limit of $3,000, a daily velocity limit of 10 transactions and a daily spending amount of $4,000, according to the affidavit. Spending limit increases can be requested, and Navarro requested them frequently, officials said, sometimes bumping her monthly spending limit up to as much as $15,000.
School board members are responsible for "reconciling" their purchases at the end of every month with paperwork. Navarro allegedly doctored and faked reports to downplay her transactions. It wasn't until she resigned and another administrator had to handle her account that the district grew suspicious. This prompted an investigation and law enforcement got involved.
State Attorney: Navarro spent at least $101,000 in unauthorized purchases in 2022
This investigation and affidavit were limited to the purchases made in 2022 due to the "vast amount" of evidence, according to authorities. The 91-page arrest affidavit details dozens of transactions using taxpayer funds totaling over $101,000 between Jan. 1, 2022 and Dec. 31, 2022.
"These are only glimpses of the very extensive array of evidence which lays the foundation for the charges filed today," Rundle said.
Navarro allegedly spent $26,404.19 at Walmart in 2022, according to the affidavit. She also spent over $9,000 at Staples, nearly $11,000 at Brandsmart USA, over $5,000 at Home Depot and nearly $4,000 at Apple. She also made other purchases at common retail locations, too. In total, she spent over $92,000 on her P-Card, according to the arrest affidavit.
She allegedly used her P-Card to buy the following items: Apple Watches, Apple Air Tag, Sony Boom Box, Apple phone charger, iMac, AirPods, iPads, Apple Pencil, Magic Keyboard for iPad Pro, fire- and water-resistant safe, electric burner and griddle, bottles of wine, printers, Halloween costumes, luggage, coffee makers, televisions, espresso machines, holiday party supplies, baby items, Ring cameras, paper shredder, computer monitor, cameras, HP laptops, chest freezer, Fitbit fitness tracker, refrigerators, wine chillers, convection oven, reclining sofa, various construction items, miscellaneous food, health and beauty products and clothing, authorities said.
For some items that were over P-Card spending limits, Navarro would split the transaction up into two payments "in order to stay below the M-DCPS requirement," the arrest affidavit said.
The items that Navarro allegedly bought were explicitly listed as prohibited items in the school board member's agreement that she signed upon receiving her card, the affidavit continued.
A large chunk of the money spent on the district-issued P-Card went toward gift cards, which are not allowed "unless there is sufficient documentation of whom the gift card is given to," the affidavit said. She allegedly spent thousands of dollars on Visa gift cards, and gift cards for other stores and restaurants including Nordstrom, Bloomingdale's, Starbucks, Outback Steakhouse and Cheesecake Factory, to name a few.
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It should be noted that the district said any equipment purchases made using a P-Card are the property of the district and should be returned to the district upon termination. Navarro did not return any of the items she purchased when she resigned, nor did she give, donate or assign it to any school site or building, officials said.
Navarro allegedly used taxpayer funds to buy appliances for boyfriend's juice market
The bulk of the items purchases were ultimately found by authorities after search warrants were executed at four of Navarro's properties: her current townhouse, her abandoned house, her ex-boyfriend's juice and sandwich business Shook Market and a storage facility.
Navarro's ex-boyfriend, whose name was not revealed in the arrest affidavit, owns a market that sells juice, smoothies and sandwiches in Fort Lauderdale. They met at the market and their relationship became intimate. At some point during their relationship, he would ask her for help and advice with his business, but told authorities he never asked her for money. She began to buy him items for the market, including blenders, espresso machines, two wine coolers and refrigerators, among other items, according to the affidavit.
Sometimes she would show up at Shook Market with new items for him, and other times she would pay remotely while her ex-boyfriend was at the store. She also allegedly spent over $800 on groceries for his family.
Boyfriend finds Apple AirTags in his car that Navarro bought with district-issued card, affidavit says
The affidavit details another purchase Navarro made with regard to her boyfriend, two artificial silicone pregnancy bellies which she used to convince her ex-boyfriend's mother that she was pregnant. Navarro's ex-boyfriend details several instances of harassing and possessive behavior, including installing two Apple AirTags in his car to track his location, the affidavit said. He said he removed the AirTags from his car and never reported her to police.
Authorities were able to track the pregnancy bellies and Apple AirTags to unauthorized P-Card purchases made on Amazon and at Walmart, the affidavit said.
Officials say Navarro spent over $9,000 in travel expenses, including trips to Disney, Vegas and the Dominican Republic
Navarro also allegedly paid for her boyfriend and his family's trips to Walt Disney World, Universal Studios Orlando and Las Vegas, according to the affidavit. She also took her mother on a trip to the Dominican Republic using a district-issued travel card, authorities said.
In total, Navarro allegedly racked up over $9,000 in travel expenses, including air travel, hotels, meals, car rentals, and entertainment for herself, friends and family. According to the affidavit, travel purchases are limited to airline tickets, hotel accommodations and ground transportation for official business. It also prohibits using the district-issued card for meals and other family members who might be traveling. Travel must also be approved by the district alongside appropriate documentation, which Navarro did not provide.
When submitting her monthly reconciliation paperwork, Navarro allegedly doctored her receipts to exclude her name or travel dates, the affidavit said.
Changes coming to district-issued credit cards, Inspector General says
Due to Navarro's unauthorized spending spree, Inspector General for Miami-Dade Felix Jimenez said he's working with the district to remedy its policies when it comes to P-Card and travel card usage for school board members, he said during a press conference.
"Mrs. Navarro's betrayal of the public trust extends beyond financial theft. It shatters our trust in institutions, erodes faith in the system and unfairly tarnishes the good work done by other board members who deeply care about our schools," Jimenez said.
Navarro had her first appearance in court Thursday and remains in custody in Miami-Dade County. She's being held on $2 million bond. If convicted, she faces a minimum of three years or a maximum of 55 years.